TOGETHER FOR EUROPE - GAMES FOR ACTIVE LEARNING

2019-1-RO01-KA229-063665

ROMANIA „Elena Cuza” National College

GREECE 39th Primary School of Patra

AUSTRIA

Neue Mittelschule der Pädagogischen Hochschule Steiermark

ITALY Instituto Comprensivo Statale "A. Pagano" -Nicotera

CYPRUS Dimotiko Scholeio Defteras Pano

“Elena Cuza” National College https://www.cnelenacuza.ro/ "Elena Cuza" National College opened in 1971 in response to a demand in Bucharest for a high quality recognised education. The aim of the ”Elena Cuza” National College is to provide children with the education and social skills needed for an ever changing world.

We provide a balanced and broad curriculum which include all pupils of different abilities and needs, from the Early Years Foundation Stage to High School. A number of 1200 outstanding pupils with excellent results study in our school at different levels: • PRIMARY SCHOOL EDUCATION (6→11 years old); • MIDDLE SCHOOL EDUCATION(11→15 years old )-bilingual- intensive English classes; • HIGH

SCHOOL

EDUCATION(15→19

years

old)-

vocational

branch,

pedagogical

profile(teachers - and extracurricular activities instructors specialization);theoretical profile, philology and bilingual English specialization; theoretical profile, mathematics-computer specialization, computer intensive.

Classes are taught by 70 highly qualified teachers, devoted to continuous training.

We feel that both our pupils and teachers benefit greatly from exchanging ideas and experiences with other European teachers. Attending the Erasmus project increased the quality of educational process and it also helped us to put in practice new educational strategies and to work out modern pedagogical technologies. All the experience from this project will be transmitted to future educators who will apply it in their future work.

39th Primary School of Patra http://39dim-patras.ach.sch.gr/

The 39th Primary School is located in Neo Souli, a suburb of Patra. It is built on the slopes of Mt Panachaiko and it is about 10km from the city centre. There are 211 pupils, aged between 712, The school consists of a Headteacher and 24 teachers including eleven class teachers, two PE teachers, two English teachers, a French teacher, a German teacher, a Music teacher , a SEN teacher, a SEN teacher assistant an ICT teacher and a Drama teacher. There is also a psychologist and a nurse. The school follows the curriculum of the Ministry of Education but at

the same time there are extra-curricular activities based on Health, Cultural and Environmental programmes

as

well

as

e-twinning

projects

in

which

we

are

involved.

The Erasmus+ project give a new dimension to the general scope of the school because it promotes the development of their skills in an entertaining way as it entails the use of technology, which fascinates children nowadays. What is more, the project help our pupils improve their skills in the English language and familiarise them with other European languages and cultures. understand what the EU is and feel as members of the European community.

Neue Mittelschule der Pädagogischen Hochschule Steiermark https://pms.phst.at/home/ The Praxis Neue Mittelschule is a public lower secondary school associated with the University College of Teacher Education in Styria. Our school stands for pedagogical innovation and modern teaching methods.

The school has about 180 students and 45 teachers (many of them part-time, because they also teach at the University College of Teacher Education.(Pädagogische Hochschule der Steiermark). Our students come from a variety of backgrounds. About 50% of our students do not speak German as their mother tongue, and many students have only come to Austria recently. 38% of our students are officially considered "poor" and receive full financial support from the state, another 12% are at the poverty line and also receive substantial support.

At PraxisNMS we are trying to help all students to catch up and reach the curriculum standards in order to be successful in life (and further education).

We use technology on a daily basis and our staff has excellent knowledge in using web-based tools, apps, tablets and computers in class. Our school is well-equipped with wifi, tablets, computers and even our own campus radio-studio.

We are an "all-day" school where the children stay for lunch and have both, free-time activities and regular classes in the afternoons. For this reason, the Erasmus project, games and game-based learning play an important role in order to keep the students motivated and engaged for so many hours.

Dimotiko Scholeio Defteras Pano http://dim-pano-deftera-lef.schools.ac.cy/ Dimotiko Scholeio Defteras Pano is a public regional school located in Deftera, in the southern suburbs of Nicosia district.

The teaching staff of our school consists of 24 educators: the headmaster, three deputy headteachers, two special education teachers, one logotherapist and seventeen classroom or specialty teachers. Our school numbers 273 students aged 6-12 years old, attending one of the 14 classes. There is also a Special Education Unit for students with special needs, who are integrated into the mainstream classes, in some subjects.

Our school's vision is to give all students the opportunity to express themselves, to share and exchange ideas with children of their age, to broaden their thinking and horizons, and to acquire the key competencies for the citizens of the 21st century, in a safe, healthy and inclusive environment. Therefore, our school has always been involved in various educational programs.

The topic of the Erasmus project motivated us to join the group, in order to exchange ideas and good practices on how to integrate games in the daily school life, as a tool for the holistic development of our students, but also, on how they can become the means for mutual understanding with people and cultures from other parts of Europe.

Istituto Comprensivo Statale "A. Pagano" –Nicotera https://www.istitutocomprensivonicotera.edu.it/ The I.C.S. “A. Pagano”- Nicotera is located in the two small bordering towns of Nicotera and Joppolo.

About 600 students go to Infant, Primary and Lower Secondary School . The social context of the families is various and the number of migrants is increasing. A small number of students come from Eastern Europe. They are well integrated in the classes . The school also integrates students with special needs.

The main purpose of the school is to create a safe and engaging learning environment and give students more opportunities to improve their knowledge and basic competences, social skills, the use of ICT and English in the communication and cooperation with peers all over Europe.

Teachers and pupils involved in the Erasmus project are proud to be part of a European community of schools and enjoy sharing teaching/learning experiences with other teachers and students beyond their national bordersn.

Teachers in our school are involved in courses to learn more about Cooperative Learning method and they are trying to involve students in team working.

The school has been involved in projects to reduce school drop-out rates, funded by the Regional or National government and in FESR projects to increase and improve the education facilities. The vision of the school is oriented towards the intercultural dimension and the cooperation with schools in Europe.

OBJECTIVES OF OUR PROJECT • The overall objective is to support better integration of children belonging to vulnerable groups in partner schools through various activities, starting with the school year 2019-2020.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES:

1

• Developing teachers' professional skills to plan and realize activities supporting the inclusive approach in their teaching and extra-curricular activities ;

2

• Increasing the portfolio of activities that support inclusion at school level by creating a community of practices among teachers involved in the project;

3

• Developing the emotional intelligence and well being of pupils belonging to vulnerable

Every school created presentatins and games on different topics:

WHERE WE LIVE?

HOW WE PLAY?

WHO ARE MY HEROES?

WHAT MAKES ME HAPPY, SAD OR ANGRY?

Pupils played each other's games and learned about each other's cultures.

Our games can be accessed on our website https://gamesforactivelearning.com/topic-1/games

Our pupils met online several times and learned to work together, to find the best way for each group member to contribute, to listen to and accept the viewpoints and contributions of others.

OUR EVERY DAY LIFE On May 14th and on June 5th , 2020 we had a big international Meeting. Students and teachers from Austria, Romania, Cyprus, Greece and Italy met on Zoom . We introduced our countries and schools and we broke into group-rooms and talked about different things: • What were normal school days like in your country before Corona?

• What is your life like now? How do you learn?

• How do you spend your time? What new rules do you have to follow?

Our pupils discovered , that they have so many

things in common and the differences between our countries are actually really small.

INTERNATIONAL TEA AND TALK On December 11th, we had another exciting meeting on Zoom. 126 students and teachers participated in the meeting and joined with tea, hot chocolate and their favorite Christmas cookies or sweets. Students talked in mixed groups about the following topics: • What are your schooldays like at the moment? Do you have distance learning or are you at school?

We also shared some crafts tips for Christmas

presents

and

decorations. Many of the ideas can be seen on our padlet . (https://padlet.com/lispolzleitner/1uub1 mqikqxf) .

SUPERHEROES OF OUR WORLD In our virtual workshop over 200 children met in May 2021, for three days, via Zoom and collaborated in international groups organized in breakout rooms.

They have created 26 amazing storybooks about superheroes who use their powers to make our world a better place. Here you can access our digital library and read our storybooks. https://read.bookcreator.com/library/MYtzjG50X9E-Zcxdw4k

PUPILS’ CONTEST In December 2021 ,Cyprus organised a virtual mobility on Zoom. Pupils from Cyprus, Greece, Austria, Italy and Romania met online and presented Christmas traditions and customs.

In order to check what they have learned from their partners' presentations , all the children played a Kahoot game about the Christmas traditions in the five countries. Pupils also presented crafts and sweets of their country. On the last day, pupils learned and sang Jingle Bells in

different

languages

(

Greek,

German,

Italian

and

Romanian).

Here you can find all the material the countries produced for the meeting: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1DY0iZVnBXDqy5dH7vS3UIMmuAIzwrFBC

EUROPE FOR ALL

On 8th-12th June 2022, our pupils finally met physically in Greece, Patra. Romanians, Austrians, Cypriots and Greeks danced together traditional Greek dances and took part in drama workshops organised by the teachers of Theatrical Education. Also, playground games were organised by the Physical Education teachers. Then, pupils attended an introduction to the history of Ancient Greece and its mythology with special reference to the myth of Heracles. They made a bracelet with Heracles’ knot. They learned the Greek alphabet and wrote their name using the Greek alphabet.The acquaintance with Greece and its culture continued with a documentary visit to Ancient Olympia, where students found out more about Olympic Games and participated to

European Contests organised on the Olympic Stadium.

There were also three Learning Training and Teaching Activities for teachers . :

Game based workshop  Romania ( 25th-29th November 2019)

Social inclusion workshopItaly 3rd -7th November 2021

Useful digital tools for gamified learningAustria 11th -15th May 2021

3. Austria – 11-15.05.2021